DANce StepsNotes from Dan

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1. DWI (Dancing While Ignorant): Ignorance is the cause of almost all of the other greatest obstacles.
2. Ignorance is usually caused by having inadequate and/or infrequent quality coaching.
3. Some dancers are too loyal to their coach and some too little. Identify your teachers’ strengths and build your team accordingly.
4. Getting the right information at the right time is normally more difficult when learning from younger teachers who are still competing. Some competitors pass on to their students whatever was learned in their last lesson, which helps to reinforce the lesson for the teacher but at the expense of the student’s current needs.
5. Lack of Role Models

Most dancers are extremely under-exposed to great dancing. Live local role models are the best, but get role models wherever you can get them.There are many internet role models. Use them. Attend competitions, dance camps and performances at every opportunity.

3. Wrong Priorities
4. Ask for advice often from many sources. Keep checking your priorities.
5. Read achievement books and newspaper and internet articles on sports topics. Successful athletes, artists and musicians have much to teach us.
6. Alluring and/or Necessary Distractions

Social life, social dancing, other dance forms or types of exercise or entertainment, and your job are all good but need to be limited where possible in order to achieve excellence. Sacrifice will be necessary.

5. Lack of commitment

Decide. Commit. Be motivated. Great motivation requires a clear vision and specific objectives. When dancing your fifth Jive or Quickstep at the end of a long practice, you are going to be asking yourself, “Why am I doing this?” Have the answer ready, followed by “How?” A specific plan keeps you motivated and committed to your art.

6. Inadequate Supporting Skills

DanceSport training must be supplemented with training in other dances, as well as other physical and musical training, sports psychology and sometimes, as we heard at Pizza with the Pros, counseling. All adult champions go outside their specific fields to get training. Get coaching with a jazz teacher on your routines. Take a Brazilian Samba class.

7. Poor choices in choreography undermine progress

Sometimes it’s the right figure but it is poorly understood. Work to better understand the role and function of every figure in your repertoire or routine.

8. Missing the Music-center of your dancing

Specific musicality exercises are vital, as is bringing music specialists into your training.

9. Ignorance about the history of the dances and of the champions who have come before

Read Dancebeat monthly. Join Facebook groups of dance professionals and educators. Read books. Research topics.

10. Poor management of practice time (See notes from “Keys to Successful Practice.”)

Frequency, duration, adhering to the most effective priorities,

11. Not having the right partner(s) and the relationship skill set to maximize the benefits from partnerships
12. Poor organizational and planning skills: Either be an effective planner or be strongly influenced by one (partner or coach). Many dancers are just thrashing around in their training or showing up late or missing practices altogether. That’s no way to run a business, partnership or career.

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